Top 10 Rock Songs of 1996
Rock music took a turn for the merrier in the latter part of the 1990s. Artists long involved with the scene were toying with new, progressive sounds; others were toying with grammatical conventions. We explore where Alanis, STP and others fell on the charts in 1996.
With all the imagery of palm trees and the gently rolling waves, one would imagine Everclear’s first big hit was a happy song. The truth is quite the opposite: Art Alexakis wrote it in memory of a former girlfriend who committed suicide. The titular Santa Monica is the location of the pier where the singer almost plunged to his own death. On that cheerful note, the buoyant tune ruled the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks for three weeks and eventually was covered by animated critters Alvin and the Chipmunks.Buy from Amazon »
“Nothing seems to kill me, no matter how hard I try,” Chris Cornell sang with a ghostly drone. The 1990s and early part of the aughts saw the grunge behemoth struggling with addiction, so perhaps “Blow Up the Outside World” was a cry for help. Crashing through a quiet-loud-loud structure, the number featured muscle-bound guitars from Kim Thayil and sullen drums by Matt Cameron. In various interviews, the Soundgarden guys had noted a bit of Beatles and AC/DC influence on the third single from Down on the Upside (A&M).Buy from Amazon »
Collective Soul had the post-grunge thing down pat, but “The World I Know” showed the band’s vulnerability. The acoustic guitars and mournful violins complemented Ed Roland’s misanthropic quandaries. The tender music video addressed the rapid pace and swift emptiness of modern life (this just before the tech boom), concluding with the protagonist’s life being saved by a friendly pigeon. “The World I Know” suggested there was beauty and hope in even the coldest of moments.Buy from Amazon »
Don’t call it rap-rock. Though Omaha’s own 311 brought the genre into the mainstream with the scratchy “Down,” the song exhibited elements of reggae, metal and pop. The verse-trading by singer Nick Hexum and rapper Doug “SA” Martinez would give rise to Linkin Park and other similar-sounding hybrid bands.Buy from Amazon »
The dial-tone-like intro was phoning in from another time: “In the Meantime” sounded more like 1970s glam rock than anything else on the radio in 1996. Front man Royston Langdon was a modern-day Phil Lynott and David Bowie all rolled into one flamboyant, actress-courting peacock. The song hit number one on the Mainstream Rock charts, but Spacehog quickly faded from the spotlight.
Read our interview with Royston Langdon.Buy from Amazon »
There was some fantastic palm muting happening in this underrated STP offering. It was like a cousin to “Interstate Love Song” but with more chaos. “I am, I am, I said I’m not myself; but I’m not dead and I’m not for sale,” the pugnacious Scott Weiland shrieked. Yet, “Trippin’” must have sold pretty well— it landed at the top spot on the Album Rock charts.Buy from Amazon »
Like many members of Generation X, the characters in this Butthole Surfers classic were “all in love with dying.” Though, leader Gibby Haynes’ words suggested glamorizing le morte was foolish. The rubbery single had shades of Beck’s “Loser” to it, with spoken-word verses, a backward guitar solo and a blasé chorus. And though many radio stations balked at announcing the band’s name, terrestrial carriers still played “Pepper” extensively in 1996.Buy from Amazon »
This jubilant ode to childhood in the suburbs was an early foray into electronic rock for the Smashing Pumpkins. The steady, slightly robotic drumbeat would evolve on 1998’s Adore (Virgin), putting SP at the forefront of the cyber-music movement. “1979” was a gleeful turn for the alternative band known for its crushing guitars and Billy Corgan’s cynicism. The song would become the Pumpkins’ highest-charting single, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.Buy from Amazon »
Raise your hand if you’ve ever considered bathing yourself in zebra flesh. No one? This out-of-nowhere hit by unassuming Californian Chris O’Connor might have contained some of the strangest lyrics of the ’90s. But thanks to its mellow groove and its sampling of B.B. King’s “How Blue Can You Get,” "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" earned its accolades and tons of airplay.
Chart positions courtesy Tunecaster.comBuy from Amazon »
10. Everclear - "Santa Monica"
With all the imagery of palm trees and the gently rolling waves, one would imagine Everclear’s first big hit was a happy song. The truth is quite the opposite: Art Alexakis wrote it in memory of a former girlfriend who committed suicide. The titular Santa Monica is the location of the pier where the singer almost plunged to his own death. On that cheerful note, the buoyant tune ruled the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks for three weeks and eventually was covered by animated critters Alvin and the Chipmunks.Buy from Amazon »
9. Soundgarden - "Blow Up the Outside World"
“Nothing seems to kill me, no matter how hard I try,” Chris Cornell sang with a ghostly drone. The 1990s and early part of the aughts saw the grunge behemoth struggling with addiction, so perhaps “Blow Up the Outside World” was a cry for help. Crashing through a quiet-loud-loud structure, the number featured muscle-bound guitars from Kim Thayil and sullen drums by Matt Cameron. In various interviews, the Soundgarden guys had noted a bit of Beatles and AC/DC influence on the third single from Down on the Upside (A&M).Buy from Amazon »
8. Alanis Morissette - "Ironic"
Linguistic arguments aside, “Ironic” turned former Canadian pop star Alanis Morissette into an alternarock deity. Not only did it reign over the Modern Rock Track charts; it dominated the overall Top 40, too. The singsong stream of bummers, like “meeting the man of my dreams, then meeting his beautiful wife,” earned Morissette a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 1997. And the giddy road-trip visual accompaniment earned our vote as one of the best music videos of the decade.Buy from Amazon »7. Collective Soul - "The World I Know"
Collective Soul had the post-grunge thing down pat, but “The World I Know” showed the band’s vulnerability. The acoustic guitars and mournful violins complemented Ed Roland’s misanthropic quandaries. The tender music video addressed the rapid pace and swift emptiness of modern life (this just before the tech boom), concluding with the protagonist’s life being saved by a friendly pigeon. “The World I Know” suggested there was beauty and hope in even the coldest of moments.Buy from Amazon »
6. 311 - "Down"
Don’t call it rap-rock. Though Omaha’s own 311 brought the genre into the mainstream with the scratchy “Down,” the song exhibited elements of reggae, metal and pop. The verse-trading by singer Nick Hexum and rapper Doug “SA” Martinez would give rise to Linkin Park and other similar-sounding hybrid bands.Buy from Amazon »
5. Spacehog - "In the Meantime"
The dial-tone-like intro was phoning in from another time: “In the Meantime” sounded more like 1970s glam rock than anything else on the radio in 1996. Front man Royston Langdon was a modern-day Phil Lynott and David Bowie all rolled into one flamboyant, actress-courting peacock. The song hit number one on the Mainstream Rock charts, but Spacehog quickly faded from the spotlight.
Read our interview with Royston Langdon.Buy from Amazon »
4. Stone Temple Pilots - "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart"
There was some fantastic palm muting happening in this underrated STP offering. It was like a cousin to “Interstate Love Song” but with more chaos. “I am, I am, I said I’m not myself; but I’m not dead and I’m not for sale,” the pugnacious Scott Weiland shrieked. Yet, “Trippin’” must have sold pretty well— it landed at the top spot on the Album Rock charts.Buy from Amazon »
3. Butthole Surfers - "Pepper"
Like many members of Generation X, the characters in this Butthole Surfers classic were “all in love with dying.” Though, leader Gibby Haynes’ words suggested glamorizing le morte was foolish. The rubbery single had shades of Beck’s “Loser” to it, with spoken-word verses, a backward guitar solo and a blasé chorus. And though many radio stations balked at announcing the band’s name, terrestrial carriers still played “Pepper” extensively in 1996.Buy from Amazon »
2. The Smashing Pumpkins - "1979"
This jubilant ode to childhood in the suburbs was an early foray into electronic rock for the Smashing Pumpkins. The steady, slightly robotic drumbeat would evolve on 1998’s Adore (Virgin), putting SP at the forefront of the cyber-music movement. “1979” was a gleeful turn for the alternative band known for its crushing guitars and Billy Corgan’s cynicism. The song would become the Pumpkins’ highest-charting single, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.Buy from Amazon »
1. Primitive Radio Gods - "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth..."
Raise your hand if you’ve ever considered bathing yourself in zebra flesh. No one? This out-of-nowhere hit by unassuming Californian Chris O’Connor might have contained some of the strangest lyrics of the ’90s. But thanks to its mellow groove and its sampling of B.B. King’s “How Blue Can You Get,” "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" earned its accolades and tons of airplay.
Chart positions courtesy Tunecaster.comBuy from Amazon »
